


Bats, Cats, and Mermaid Tears

by Mid_Nightmare



Series: Let Me Be Your Superhero [2]
Category: DCU, DCU (Comics)
Genre: Alpha Damian Wayne, Alpha Kon-El | Conner Kent, Alpha Roy Harper, Alpha Slade Wilson, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alpha/Omega, Anxiety Attacks, Anxiety Disorder, Emotional, Family Reunions, Halloween, Halloween Costumes, M/M, Omega Dick Grayson, Omega Jason Todd, Omega Jonathan Samuel Kent, Omega Tim Drake, Omega Verse, Original Character(s), Reunions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-01
Updated: 2020-11-01
Packaged: 2021-03-09 02:35:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,164
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27317101
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mid_Nightmare/pseuds/Mid_Nightmare
Summary: Halloween is Richard Grayson's favorite holiday. It reminds him of when he made his sons' costumes, took them trick-or-treating, and got to fool himself into believing that that one night he could be a mother instead of a "brother". Now, he spends the evening throwing parties and giving candies to all of the people in his beloved town. Though... this year things are different. This year, his boys are back, and they know exactly who he is.
Relationships: Dick Grayson/Slade Wilson, Jonathan Kent/Damian Wayne, Roy Harper/Jason Todd, Tim Drake/Kon-El | Conner Kent
Series: Let Me Be Your Superhero [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1941505
Comments: 27
Kudos: 199
Collections: Batfam Halloween Week





	Bats, Cats, and Mermaid Tears

**Author's Note:**

> Well, it's time for part two of our series!
> 
> Just to be clear in case some of you missed my update, they found out about everything in August, so they have looking for Dick for almost three months.
> 
> I hope you all enjoy!!! <3 <3
> 
> Updated: 11/7/2020 - Sorry for the errors, guys ><

Damian huffed as they were brought to yet another aisle. “Do we all have to dress up?” he asked, glaring at the offending brightly-colored costumes.

“But Uncle Dami!” Lian chirped, pouting up at him. “It’s not really trick-or-treating if we’re not all dressed up.”

He sighed softly before crouching to her level and picking the little girl up. She quickly clung to his neck, and he hummed as he turned down the aisle. “Okay, then what should I wear?”

“Match me! Match me!” she squealed, pointing to the warrior uniform that hung from a higher shelf.

“But squeaker,” Roy pouted as he popped his head up from a different aisle, “I’m already going to match you!”

Lian pouted at her father before turning back to look at Damian. “Maybe a vampire?” she suggested.

Jon gasped and clung onto the back of Damian’s shirt. “Dami, look, look!”

Damian turned his head before he was assaulted by a plastic-covered image. “You should match me!”

He pulled his head back a bit before frowning at the image. A girl stood with an odd set to her neck, arms hanging limply at her sides. She was dressed in a worn and even torn dress with little patchwork pieces including a ridiculous pink heart. “That’s a girl’s outfit,” Damian pointed out.

“So?” Jon asked, tilting his head to the side. “It was the only one in my size.”

“It’s… a skirt?” Damian added before Lian piped up, pushing her uncle’s face away to see the omega.

“What Uncle Dami is trying to say is it’s perfect!”

“That’s not w-”

“Thank you!” Jon giggled before leaning in to rub noses with the girl. He straightened out and smiled widely at Damian. “Now we need you to match!”

“I’m not wearing a skirt,” the young alpha grumbled as he was dragged off to the area where Jon had found his.

“No promises,” both Lian and Jon said, immediately erupting into more giggles.

Jason peeked over at them before sighing as he leaned into Roy’s side. “Don’t worry. We’ll find him,” the alpha whispered, pressing a kiss to his mate’s temple. The omega nodded, but he couldn’t shake the feeling that their search would be fruitless. They’d been looking for Dick for three months now, and even though they went through the process of releasing the stupid order of protections Bruce insisted they have, they hadn’t made much headway.

Conner and Jon had tried to listen for Dick’s heartbeat, but they weren’t familiar with it anymore. They never really met the omega, and they hadn’t really met Slade either to find him. They began just following the whispers of rumors they caught, but that only led them to the middle of nowhere Nebraska.

They had agreed to stop here since the hotels were cheap, and it was the day before Halloween. Jason and Roy didn’t want Lian to miss the holiday, and everyone was willing to go along with it for the sake of the three-year old. Thank God, there was a costume store in this tiny town.

Tim and Conner were off in the corner talking about the couple costumes, and Roy and Lian had decided to be a warrior princess and her guard (not that Xena would have ever needed one, but kids do). Jason honestly didn’t feel up to it, but when Lian turned those big eyes on him, he agreed to wear the adult version of her own costume. Though Roy did get glared at when he slipped in his two cents about exactly how  _ adult _ the costume should look.

As Jason and Roy were turning the corner, trying to find where Lian had dragged Damian to, they heard a voice that was clearly trying  _ not _ to be heard but failing miserably. “He looks just like him!”

“All three of them do!” It was a bunch of excited whispers, but it wasn’t until then that he had noticed that it seemed like their little outing had drawn attention to them. Shit, they’d actually been really good about not letting people figure out that they were the three Wayne sons left in the picture, but they may have just blown it.

His shoulders were starting to tense, but before he could get too upset, a middle-aged woman approached him. “My dear, is that your little girl?” she asked. Jason blinked, but thankfully, Roy was the talkative type.

“Yes, ma’am,” he grinned, pulling Jason closer into his side. The omega shot him a dark look from the corner of his eye.

“Oh, my, isn’t she a darlin’?” the woman smiled. “You know who would absolutely love her?”

Jason paled slightly. He didn’t really like the way the woman said that. Honestly, it sounded like he was about to give his daughter away to a witch that intended to make stew. Okay, maybe he had been thinking about Halloween too much... “Who?” Roy asked, grinning.

“Richard!” The woman was smiling widely, her soft orange blossom scent growing stronger around her. “Oh, if you’re going trick-or-treating, you’ll definitely go by the Wilson house. Their decorations are always perfect, and they make so many sweets for all the kids, and,” she dropped her voice to a stage whisper, “they make some for us adults too.”

Jason lost track of the conversation as Roy talked with the woman. He was too busy digesting the words she had already said. Richard and then Wilson. It could be a coincidence, but… all their clues had led them here.

When the woman excused herself to go talk to a few other middle-aged housewives in the corner, Roy’s attention was immediately given to his mate. “Do you think-?”

“Yeah,” Jason breathed, looking up at the other. “We may have found him.”

* * *

  
  


“Slade!” Dick called, getting a grunt from the kitchen. “Don’t forget the apples.”

The alpha appeared in the doorway to the kitchen, eyebrow raised while his arms were full of sweets. “Have I ever?”

Dick flushed, smiling sheepishly. “No…” A hum from Slade, and the omega opened the front door for him. It was  _ just _ after 5:30, and they needed to start getting all the treats out. Following after his mate, the omega went to the massive coffin on the right side of their front yard.

There were at least eleven colorful plastic bowls filled to the brim with different kinds of candies. Down on the other end was four more bowls in which Dick started putting the apples in. Caramel apples went into the red, chocolate apples in the green, caramel chocolate apples in the yellow bowl, and all the different pretzel sticks he decorated to look like zombie fingers in the orange. 

Slade went inside while Dick made sure that everything was set to his liking in the first coffin before he waddled his way over to the left coffin. The way his tail clung to him left his movements restricted, but he wouldn’t trade it for anything.

Personally, this had to be his favorite costume, and as Slade came out with another batch of sweets, Dick grinned wider. His alpha was dressed as a pirate, tailored slacks that were tucked into nearly knee high black leather boots. His off-white peasant shirt was left mostly untied, some silvery white chest hair peeking out from his collar. He had one of his suit vests with pinstripes and gold accents tucked in the baggy shirt to show off his narrow waist, and a long leather trench coat with the collar popped hung from his shoulders.

Dick, on the other hand, was a mermaid. It was a skin tight fabric tail that he had made from the best scale fabric he could find. It went up to his waist, tickling his ribs, and spilled onto the floor and covered his heels. He normally would never wear a pair of heels,  _ never _ , but Rose had said that mermaids should have long tails, and if he was going to go all out with a seashell top - he couldn’t just walk around with his chest out, there are children everywhere! - that he should put on the heels to get a few more inches of tail. He begrudgingly admitted that she was right, his tail began flaring out about halfway down his shins and designed it to be more like an actual fin.

He was so proud of the way it came together, and Slade had bought him strands of pearls that he had done up around his neck. His "bikini" was made of foam shells, and he had fake pearls tying it to his skin, and more pearls cascading from his shoulders and down his arms. Rose had helped him get his prosthetic gills on and the fake fins along his ulnas, and he even let her paint his nails.

They were so over the top with their costumes and decorations and even the treats they gave out, but it always made him so happy. Seeing the joy on all those little children's faces melted his heart, and it helped to chase the pain away that was quickly closing in.

Tomorrow would be a very sad and quiet day in their home. A day to remember all they had lost. But not tonight. Even though traditionally Day of the Dead ran for three nights, in their home it was only two. Halloween was saved for the people in their little town and for all the children that were very much present.

Shaking his thoughts away, Dick cleared his throat, smiling at his alpha. It was weak, even he knew that, but Slade didn't comment. He helped his partner fill the second coffin with the healthier and allergy free snacks for the kids that couldn't eat the others.

The adult snacks were stashed away by the skeletons, small white chocolate bones filled with a bourbon caramel. Drinks were stashed in a cooler that was covered in cobwebs. And as Dick finished tying the last bag of popcorn onto the ropes that were hanging off the coffins, he stepped back and smiled.

It was an exceptionally impressive display this year. Dick had been so excited when he found a specific inflatable that he had seen in a store in his youth and dreamed about still to this day that Slade hadn't even looked at the price before setting his card down. Of course, they then had to change the theme of the house…

The massive Headless Horseman and carriage took up an entire third of their front yard. The four black horses were Clydesdales and towered over the rest of the decorations at eighteen feet tall. The carriage they were pulling was an easy twenty-five feet, and the Headless Horseman was sitting on the bench, whip in hand. The inside of the carriage glowed an amber shaded yellow, and after a minute, the ghosts came out of the top, electronic cackles coming from the speakers as they rose with the horseman's jack-o'-lantern head.

They had to buy more ghosts, pumpkins, hay bales, and skeletons. The entire yard was decorated, and they still used all the orange and purple lights, the tombstones, the cobwebs, and most of the animal skeletons they had bought years.

Dick was practically beaming as he looked over their yard and the coffins spilling over with treats. Slade had stopped to flick the music on, and Zeus was sniffing the ground, always on the prowl for weapons.

He was such a good boy, and Dick couldn't be prouder of him. He had adjusted to the family so well and in just about no time too. Slade whistled, and Zeus was immediately at his side, letting out a small woof. "Good boy," the alpha hummed before patting the German Shepherd's head.

"I think we're ready," Dick said, and Slade nodded, pressing a kiss to the omega's cheek, one of the only places where there weren't any makeup scales.

With a quick fix of the man's eyepatch, the omega pressed a soft kiss to his lover's lips. "Okay, so it would be a lot faster for both of us if you carried me." Slade rolled his eye, but then he easily picked the omega up and carried him to his usual place.

As the sun began to color, Richard smiled wider. "Let the fun begin."

* * *

The rest of the day was spent agitated and waiting for the night to come. Alfred was lounging on the bed, his tail swishing as he playfully batted at Titus. Jason and Tim were barely able to sit down for most of the day to the point that Conner had to pull his mate into his lap and feed him for Tim to stop pacing or muttering to himself.

Jason was kept busy with Lian when Roy would find ways to pass her off to her mother. Jon seemed to have Damian under wraps, especially with the pets, but once they finished a dinner of some Asian fusion food that Roy and Conner had gone to get, everyone was wound up again.

“Can we get ready now, Mommy?” Lian asked, bouncing on her toes.

“Yes, sweetie, let’s get you ready.”

For the next hour, everyone in the family got into their costumes. Lian was dressed first, and Roy took the time to paint on some small bruises and a bit of ash to make their little warrior look fresh from a battle. Jason had gotten into his suit (Lian had decided she wanted both of her parents’ outfits to change right before they left the store), and now he was helping Jon into a pair of leggings. The kid was tiny, and he had made the mistake of putting on the dress first, but it gave the omega something to do.

Jon was the only one with a skirt, but he had also picked out the leggings. As he kept telling Damian, he had picked the dress out because the doll costumes only came in dresses, and this was the only one he liked. He liked the skirt, but he had refused the petticoat that would poof it out. He wasn’t wearing it to be a  _ girl _ after all. Damian was in a suit of his own, and as Roy got changed, Jason took over the makeup portion and got started on Jon's broken china makeup.

Conner was in a blue toga with a bronze belt. He also had a pair of tight pants underneath to cover his legs. Tim was in a long pink pantsuit with the flowing legs making it look like he had a skirt. Conner was tucking flowers into his hair to complete the Persephone look that the alpha had wanted to try out, and Tim had already spray-dyed Conner's hair to have a faint blue tint.

With Roy in his suit and Jon's makeup done, Jason turned the brush onto his alpha. It didn't take long to paint the twisted smile and to add a little to his eyes to make them wider and more crazy. With his Mr. Hyde makeup done, Roy grinned and pecked his husband's lips. "Shall we?"

They left the hotel with Titus since they didn't want to risk leaving him behind, but Alfred was content on the couch of the hotel, so he remained. Titus kept in perfect step with Damian as the puppeteer walked beside his broken doll. Jon was excitedly looking around at everything while clutching the young alpha's hand. Lian was currently in Roy's arms, and Jason was tucked against his side. Conner and Tim were also holding hands, bringing up the rear of their group.

The nerves were still there, but as they started their trick-or-treating and Lian excitedly squealed and chattered away, they all relaxed. 

The town was set up in a way that they were easily able to sneak between all the streets, hitting so many houses in such a short time. They had done so much that Lian's little plastic pumpkin was almost filled. Apparently, the people in the country were a lot more giving when it came to Halloween, and they had spoiled them all with compliments on their costumes. Hell, even though they were all perfect strangers, these people welcomed them as if they had known them their entire lives.

It was the weirdest feeling, but it was a nice change from stuffy Gotham where most people either didn't notice you or looked at you with disdain as if you were a mere bug on their shoe.

They had just rounded the corner onto what they assumed was the last street in this weave of cul-de-sacs. The first thing they noticed was the beautiful ranch house at the center of the street. It had off-white siding, dark gray shingles, blue shutters, and a matching blue front door. It was so ornately done up in decoration, and it seemed like most of the town was in the area.

Lian had immediately gasped and yanked accidentally on Damian's hair. "Ow, Lian-"

"Sorry, Uncle Dami," she frowned, hiding her face for a minute. Damian pressed a kiss to her temple and nodded.

"Lian, be careful," Jason frowned. 

"I'm sorry, Mommy. I just wanna go there!!" she said, pointing to the house with all the attention.

Jason nodded, "We still have a few more houses before we hit that one."

The rest of their time was spent with eager excitement as they got closer and closer to the home. They were across the street: Jason, Roy, Tim, and Damian waiting for Jon and Kon to finish with Lian. They were just talking quietly, looking the house over with excitement. 

"Whoever lives there loves Halloween," Roy grinned. Jason hummed and nodded, tucking closer to his alpha. They were still watching, seeing a tall man dressed as a pirate walking around with a solid black German Shepherd and a flamboyant mermaid talking with the parents of all the children around.

Coffins were still practically overflowing with treats, and they could see some of the kids drinking water or juice boxes. A few more dogs were on the yard near their assumed owners, and a few cats were hiding in the window sills of the house. It really was elaborate but tastefully done. Even the parents were clearly enjoying themselves.

"They're probably the most popular family in this town," Jason said as they continued watching. He could hear another person cooing over Lian and rolled his eyes with a smile. 

"Probably?" Tim asked, shaking his head.

"Well, I wasn't about to-" Jason stopped dead as another person moved, and he got a better look at the mermaid. Long black hair artfully tucked up with little pearls and shells. Vibrant blue eyes that crinkled at the corners and matched the feeling behind his smile. "It's-"

"Mom," Damian finished, staring in awe. The three bundled together, watching his every motion as he walked - waddled really - around the yard. He was talking to some of the women, and the children were excitedly running around. He looked so… happy, so at ease.

A girl in a princess costume came up to Dick, and he struggled to bend, but one of the parents moved, and she was up in his arms. It looked so... natural Dick standing there with a baby on his hip, talking and smiling like always. He was completely at ease, and even though they couldn't see his face perfectly, they knew that he must have been calmer than he had been in years.

Suddenly, the three of them felt nervous and nauseous, not wanting to move. They were completely rooted to the spot that they didn't even notice the trio had returned. "Mommy, Mommy, is it time to go to the big house?" Lian was there, tugging on his pants, and Jason had to shake his head to get his thoughts under control. "I… I don't know, sweetie. Isn't there another house?" His voice quivered, and Roy squeezed him tighter to his side.

It was quiet for a minute as the Wayne boys tried to gather even a scrap of their courage before a new voice spoke to their left. "If you're not going to talk to him, don't stand in the open where he can see you."

Immediately they all turned, and there Slade stood with his hands in his pockets. Seeing the man outside of his Deathstroke uniform was odd enough but to see him dressed as a pirate? It was even more confusing.

"Pick your jaw off the floor," he huffed, shooting an icy blue stare at all of them. 

In their surprise, Jason hadn't even noticed Lian had slipped away until she was at Slade's feet. "Are you a pirate?!" She asked excitedly. Terrifyingly enough, the alpha's expression changed into something almost…  _ soft  _ as he looked down at the little girl.

"I am," he said.

"Where's your princess?"

Slade chuckled, and everyone in the group watching tried not to react. Slade? Laugh? And it wasn't terrifying and creepy? What the hell was happening?

"Do you see the mermaid over there?" Slade continued, pointing to Dick through the crowd. Lian quickly turned her head and spent a minute looking before gasping.

"He is a princess…" she whispered in pure awe. After a minute of staring, she turned to look back at the older man. "Can I meet him?"

"If your parents agree to it," Slade replied, glancing at the group of six.

"Mommy, Mommy, Mommy!! I  _ need _ to meet the mermaid princess or I'm gonna  _ die!!! _ Please?????" She begged, drawing out her please into a long whine. 

"Uh-" Jason whispered, still completely confused.

"Yes," Roy said. "You can." Jason whipped around on his alpha, panic in his eyes as Lian cheered and clung onto Slade's leg. "What? We haven't spent three months looking to find him and not say anything."

"Well, I know, but-"

It was too late as Lian was held in Slade's grip and carried across the street. The adults shifted together, trying to keep everything in sight as Slade simply walked up to Dick and nestled Lian into his arms now that the princess was back to her own parents.

Even from where they were, they saw how Dick lit up with the new little girl. They started talking quickly, and the smile on both of them was so infectious. "I don't remember ever seeing him this happy," Tim said softly. Conner immediately pulled his omega closer, pressing a small kiss to his cheek.

"I don't remember it either," Jason said softly. Damian had turned into Jon, hugging the smaller boy closer. Titus shifted closer to his owner, head resting against Damian’s hip.

They watched as Dick continued to dote on Lian, carrying her around to the coffins and giving her even more sweets and treats. It was wonderful to stand there for a few moments, but time seemed to stop as Lian called out, "Mommy! Mommy! I found the princess!"

All eyes widened as Dick looked up, and they watched as his jaw seemed to drop. A few other sets of eyes turned to look at them, but no one said a word.

Jon was quickest to react, dragging his older brother across the street as well. "He probably doesn't remember us, so we'll go first?"

The others nodded, trying to move their feet as the two detached and headed for the house. They couldn't hear anything, and they still struggled to move, but then Slade came up behind Dick, giving them a look that resembled the glares they’d get behind the two-toned mask. That bit of normalcy is what finally got them moving.

With one last deep breath, Jason took the first step, and as he started, the others followed. They made their way across the street, and when they were close, they could see Dick's eyes starting to shine. It was quiet until there was only about three feet between them.

"You shouldn't be here," Dick said softly so none of the other people around would hear. That didn’t seem to be a problem though as people shifted and gave them space. His gaze quickly dropped as he pressed back into Slade, Lian still held tight in his arms. "The papers-"

"We got rid of those," Damian said, shifting between his feet.

"There's other things-"

"We're all at least 18 now," Tim said. "We don’t have to listen to what anyone says." 

Dick nodded, gently tucking his nose into Lian's hair. "Mommy?" She asked, big eyes staring over at Jason, and he blinked as he pulled away and looked down at her. With the first call and the moment of confusion that followed, he hadn’t even heard what she called Jason. He had just looked up, saw three pairs of eyes so much like his own, and space and time seemed to slow to a stop.

“Mommy?”

Jason was flushed almost the shade of Roy's hair, and Roy was smiling sheepishly. "Surprise?" Roy said though it sounded more like a question. Dick had known that the two were close before he left. They seemed to bond over the difficulties of being a young hero, especially after Jason came back, but he hadn’t known anything about a romance. Then again, most eighteen year olds don’t share that kind of information with their moth-brother. With their brother.

Dick nodded, looking at his eldest son - no, his younger brother. Too many years away. Too many years where he could indulge in his thoughts, where Slade and Rose didn’t correct him. "She's very beautiful,” he said softly.

"She looks like her mom," Roy said with a grin, receiving a stab in the ribs from his mate.

"She does," Dick agreed, holding her closer. A little baby… A piece of one of his boys was in his arms, and he couldn’t remember the last time he had ever been so happy. It didn’t matter that she’d never know who he was to her. It didn’t matter at all because Dick never thought he’d be given the chance to lay eyes on the boys standing across from him again. He never would have imagined he’d meet his  _ granddaughter _ .

“I think she looks like her grandmother really,” Jason said softly. Dick blinked slowly. Surely he had heard the words wrong. He must have. Unless Bruce had made up a convincing fake to replace him. Or maybe they thought of Selina as their mother now.

Struggling with the fact his throat was quickly closing, Dick swallowed and tried to keep the trembles that were begging to come forth at bay. “I’m sure she does,” he agreed, nodding faintly as he felt a tight squeeze on his hip. Thank God for Slade.

“I mean…” Tim started, rubbing the back of his neck in an old nervous habit. Dick remembered it so well. He didn’t even need to look to see the way Tim was biting the very corner of his lip as he did it. Didn’t need to see the shy, downcast gaze. “We do look quite a bit like you.”

Dick found himself nodding, not even processing the words at first. He didn’t want to think about the person they thought was their biological mother, definitely didn’t want to think about the fact that Bruce had successfully found a way to keep the questions at bay of their true birth, and- Wait.

Immediately, his eyes widened as he looked at the middle child before looking at the other two. All three of them were looking back at him, and he stared at each of them in unadulterated horror. “You know?” he whispered, feeling Slade stiffen behind him.

A few nods. “Alfred told us,” Jason said.

“Alfred told you?” Dick’s voice had caught, pitch jumping up an octave as fear gnawed at his spine and began turning his blood to ice.

“Well, we found the file, and then he confirmed it,” Tim explained.

“File?” His voice cracked, flashes of memories running through his head. Bruce on top of him, inside him, holding him down as he cried. No, no, they didn’t know about that. They didn’t see anything. This was all just another horrible nightmare. Slade would wake him up soon, save him from himself.

“Yeah,” Damian said, pulling a blue-eyed omega closer to him that Dick couldn’t remember right now. “We found it on the computer and looked at it.”

Blood rushed to Dick’s ears, making his head spin as he felt the world closing in. Why wasn’t Slade waking him up? Why wasn’t he saving him from this? He always saved him.

“I don’t think we should be talking about this,” Slade said behind him, an arm coming protectively around Dick’s front. “Not here.”

The trembles Dick had been fighting started to show, his heart jackhammering against his chest as his vision started to narrow. This isn’t real. This isn’t real-

“We’re not talking to you,” Jason bit back, glaring at the large alpha. “We’ve been looking for Mom for months now.”

Mom. Mom. The word wouldn’t stop beating his ears, tormenting his brain.  _ They don’t know. They can’t know. They haven’t seen it. They haven’t read it. They don’t know what he did to me. _

“Grandma?” a soft little voice called, patting his cheek. Dick looked down at the girl in his arms, studying her sea-green eyes for a moment.

“I have to go inside,” Dick whispered, passing the little girl into Slade’s arms and starting towards the door. He heard voices behind him and a growl, Zeus coming up behind him and protecting his back as he tried to get up the stairs.

His heart was going to beat out of his chest or shatter to pieces.  _ It’s just a nightmare. Just a dream. Come on, Slade, wake me up! _ He managed to stumble into the house, pulling at the mermaid tail and breaking the zipper in his haste to get it off.

The heels hit the floor as he walked into the kitchen, going for the cabinet above the sink and digging through it.  _ Wake me up, wake me up, wake me up, _ he kept begging as his hands closed around the small emergency pill bottle in the back.

It took three tries before he could get through the stupid child-lock, dumping a few of the tiny white pills into his hand. He dropped the extra into the bottle before setting it down, tossing back two of the small pills. He hadn’t noticed the tears running down his face until pale purple and blue splashes hit the counter.

_ It’s a dream. It’s a dream. Slade! Help me! _

A sob bubbled up from his chest as he collapsed to the floor, head in his hands. He couldn’t stop the tears once they started. Zeus whined and pressed his head between Dick’s knees, licking the tears as they fell. Blue came running in, pressing up against the omega. It didn’t help though. “Slade,” he sobbed, the pearls and shells rattling against his chest as he tried to breath. His throat was tightening. He wasn’t going to do it. He was going to die here. It was the end-

“Breathe, birdie, I’m here.”

He picked his head up just enough to see Slade kneeling in front of him, taking the hands he hadn’t noticed tangled in his hair into his own. “I’m right here. I’m right here, Richard. I’m not going anywhere.”

Dick sobbed louder, launching himself into his partner’s arms. “Slade,” he sobbed, nails digging into the black peasant shirt and twisting it violently.

“Shhh, shh, breathe. Breathe with me,” Slade said softly, taking a deep breath in and slowly letting it out. Dick tried to match him, but it took several long moments before he could finally sync himself up to the rise and fall of the alpha’s breathing.

When his breathing started to settle, the fear around his heart started to let up. Slade was murmuring words into his hair, into his ear and kissing at the skin he could reach. The tears hadn’t stopped, and they wouldn’t for a while. They never did.

As the trembling slowed, the sobs did too, but tears were still running freely down the omega’s face. “Please tell me this is all a dream,” Dick begged, still clinging tightly to the alpha.

Slade was quiet for a moment, pressing a lingering kiss to his temple. “I wish I could, birdie,” he finally said, bringing forth a new wave of tears.

“Oh, God, they know,” Dick sobbed, pressing himself closer to the alpha. It was like he was trying to climb into Slade’s skin, leave his own broken body behind for the safe confines of his partner.

“They do,” the alpha agreed after a moment.

Shaking his head, the omega continued to cry. They sat there for who knows how long. Blue managed to wiggle herself into Dick’s lap, and Zeus still had his nose tucked in as well. Winter was pressed up against his bare thigh, and Tarot, while she may have been sitting beside Slade, was lightly licking his other knee and meowing softly.

Slade had pulled him into his lap, rocking the omega and letting him cry as he needed to. He was thankful Rose wasn’t here at the moment. Dick didn’t need any other eyes to see him like this. The tears turned to sniffles eventually, and then one of the omega’s hands had moved and was petting the Russian blue currently taking residence in his lap.

“Wha- What happened a-after-”

“I gave them our number and told them to call later,” Slade answered. “Bill, Grace, and Sara stayed outside to keep giving out treats for the kids, and they’ll take most of the extra to the nearby shelter. I told them that they could leave the rest on the doorstep, and I’d get it later.”

Dick nodded slowly, closing his eyes and curling up more into the alpha. “I’m s-”

“Hush,” Slade said, voice soft but leaving no room for argument. “You have nothing to be sorry for.”

“But… I haven’t… not in months…”

The alpha hummed, running his hand up and down Dick’s side. “It doesn’t matter. You have no control over that. You had no idea they would be here.” He sighed, pressing a kiss to the omega’s forehead. “I’m proud of you. You left when you needed to, and you took your medicine without any help. I’m proud of you.”

Even though the words were meant to be comforting, Dick still felt a guilty twist in his stomach. He could feel the medicine working, helping to balance him out, but he couldn’t shake it all off. It had been _months_ since his last panic attack, and before that, it had been almost a year. He’d been doing so well… He was getting better…

“Just because you had one doesn’t mean you’re not getting better,” Slade said softly as though he was reading the omega’s mind. Dick shook his head, hiding his face again. He knew that it was a good thing that he had gotten them himself. In the beginning, Slade would have to force one of the pills down his throat just so Dick didn’t need to go to the hospital again.

It still didn’t help to make him feel better though.

“Slade,” he asked softly after several more long minutes of just sitting there. A hum told him that the alpha was listening. “I… I want to go to bed,” Dick said softly.

Slade began to shift, getting ready to get up, but Dick stopped him, holding Blue tight. “Can… Can they sleep with us tonight?” He knew his partner wasn’t always fond of having three cats and a dog trying to sleep in their room, but he just really needed them tonight.

“Yes.” Tarot meowed as Slade stood, quickly climbing up his leg and back to get onto his shoulder. The man rolled his eye at the action but did nothing to stop her. “Come on, Zeus,” he said, and the German Shepherd immediately perked up and started following. “Billy?” he called.

The white mass of fur meowed back, and Dick watched over Slade’s shoulder as he ran to keep up with them. “You know, I know that’s why we got him, but you’re going to give him an identity crisis.”

Slade scoffed, but Dick knew he was smiling slightly. “You’re the one that said he had to come home with us,” he pointed out as he climbed up the stairs.

“Of course,” Dick agreed. “But I thought we agreed to call him  _ Winter _ .”

“You and Rose did, but I made no such agreement.” Dick rolled his eyes, chuckling softly as he watched Wintergreen run and practically rub against Slade’s leg at the same time.

“Mmhmm,” Dick hummed, letting his eyes close softly. “Slade,” he whispered as their bedroom door was pushed open, “I love you.” He was set down on the edge of their vanity a minute later, and Slade leaned down, pressing their foreheads together.

“I love you too, my pretty bird.”


End file.
